Abhi the Nomad ‘MARBLED’

"Marbled" surpasses expectations with the unexpected blend of genres making this album truly unique experience

With the name Abhi the Nomad, you might expect that he’s travelled a lot. The artist was born in India, moved to Beijing, to Hong Kong, back to India, then between China and back to India. And he didn’t stop there. He also lived in the Fiji Islands before moving to California through a talent Visa.

His music acts as a collection for these experiences. Marbledis an exploration through musical genres and although this album falls under hip-hop and rap, it has a blend of jazz, electronic, and pop.

Each track is a unique experience you’ll want to loop and reminisce on. The combination of beach-rock, R&B, jazz, and electric guitar slowed down to create a relaxing bass, make this album stand apart. Marbled is lyrically enticing. Instead of glamourizing lavish lifestyles, partying, sex and drugs, these lyrics draw images of the confusion, loneliness, and anxiety that people experience in these circumstances.

He’s inspired by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, J Cole, and Kendrick Lamar, but Abhi the Nomad knows the importance of owning his sense of self when creating music. He uses his intricate thought processes to ignite his music.

The lyrical content in Marbled will appeal to the poet in you. Take “Mama Bling,” for example: “Tell me where’s the music we could feel to?/ Where’s the groove we could love,/hate, cry and then relate to?” It’s as if the answer to these questions is: “Mama Bling.”

“Marbled” was released prior to the remainder of songs on the album. It offered a taste of what the rest of the album would bring. It brewed anticipation. “Marbled” somehow combines the drained and lonely feelings that arise post-party. The upbeat and jazzy-notes make you feel like you’re waking up and coming to your senses. On “Sex n’ Drugs,” Abhi the Nomad wrote, “[w]e love this song so goddamn much idk what else to even say, I guess I underestimated just how funky the beat is and how easily it slips in the message of addiction, materialism and self-doubt without even bluntly coming out like that.”

“Mindset” looks at upholding one’s identity. This track comes from Abhi’s thoughts on his depression. He turns memories of pain and struggle into moments of triumph through music. “Letter for God” asks questions. The bigger questions in this track ask us to think beyond what we immediately see. The lyrics ask existential questions; those questions you asked as a child and have yet to answer. “Space Craft” is an extension of “Letter for God.” It talks about after the questions. It’s a: sitting around the quiet campfire to think kind of song. That leads us into the next track, “So Long.” “So Long” is about self-acceptance and self-love. Strangely enough, the next track, “Somebody to Love” is about relationships. It talks about things that make people hesitate towards relationships. Things like commitment, repetition, and fear, make people hesitant when seeking love. We hear hesitance through this song.

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“Headcase” covers Abhi’s paranoia, anxiety, and the persistent voices in his head. It’s an internal dilemma: being trapped in your own mind and having to battle your way through it to get to the present. The variety of genres woven together isn’t the only thing that embodies the diversity projected by this album. Marbled features Danie Rae Vaughn, Sherm, Copper King, Harrison Sands, Local Foster, Hoolican Lou, Natty Reeves, Tyler Coolidge, SHOTA, and Dylan Montayne. Abhi the Nomad explained that the posse of indie artists featured on “Planes,” make “way less than they’re owed[.]” “Pressure” summarizes the personal narrative that Marbled reveals. This album walks through issues discussed throughout the album, “I write my life like its revelations/ A saint, ignoring the temptations.”